Doctors have removed more than 1.5 kilograms worth of jewelry and coins from a woman’s stomach, according to hospital staff in India.
The patient had been complaining of stomach troubles for at least two months, her mother told NDTV in India.
“She used to throw up every time after having a meal,” her mother told the station. (She added that her daughter has a mental illness.)
Doctors at the Rampurhat Government Medical College and Hospital ran several tests on the woman over the course of a week. X-rays eventually revealed the source of her discomfort: a softball-sized lump of coins, necklaces, anklets, rings, earrings and watches nestled in her stomach.
Dr. Sirdhato Biswas, the hospital’s head of surgery, led an operation to remove the metal pieces on Wednesday.
“We removed a total of 90 coins from the stomach of the woman,” Biswas told NDTV.
He told Reuters that the coins were weighing down the woman’s stomach.
“They were so heavy that they came down to her pelvis,” he said.
Her age is listed at 26 on an X-ray, but Reuters reports that she is 49. As of this writing, Global News has been unable to confirm the woman’s exact age.
The operation lasted for approximately one hour, according to Sharmila Moulik, the deputy superintendent at the hospital.
“Her condition is stable since the surgery was performed,” Moulik told the Hindustan Times on Thursday. “She will be under psychiatric treatment.”
The woman’s mother suspects she swallowed many of the coins during visits to her brother’s costume shop.
“We have noticed that ornaments are disappearing, but whenever we questioned her, she started crying,” the mother told NDTV.
“We used to keep a watch on her, but somehow she managed to swallow all these materials.”
Individuals who compulsively eat non-edible objects may suffer from a condition known as pica, according to the U.S. government’s MedlinePlus website. The condition is more common among children, but it can manifest in adults due to pregnancy or a lack of zinc or iron in a person’s diet.
Doctors have not indicated whether the Indian patient is suspected of having pica.
—With files from Reuters